Faroe Island Grinds

Grinds are hunts in the Faroe Islands in which boats scare pods of pilot whales into coves and block the exits.  People then run into the water with large hooks and hook the whales through the whales’ blow holes dragging them to shore where their heads are partially severed and they are gutted and left to die.  In my opinion, the grinds are illegal, inhumane and can cause environmental destruction.

The grinds are illegal.  There is a law that is against the killing of any marine mammal in Europe.  The Faroe Islands receive subsidies from the European Union and according to The London School of Economics and Political Science, the EU "bans commercial whale hunting and whale imports by its members."
Paul Watson of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society says, "It's barbaric, it's savage and it has no place." He also agrees that the grind is illegal.

Grinds are “mass slaughters” according to the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, and this year the grinds are going to be as bloody as ever.  Over a thousand pilot whales are killed every year in the grind.  Some whales take up to four minutes to die.  Hundreds of whales are displayed along the street including baby whales.  Pregnant whales are ripped open and the babies are taken out and eaten too.  Sometimes pilot whales are hit with a knife before their spines are finally severed.

The grinds can cause environmental destruction.  During grinds, whole pods of whales are killed.  This extermination stops the chances of reproduction and cause population decrease.  Pilot whales are apex predators consumed only by humans.  A population decrease would impact the surrounding ecosystem.  Squid populations could explode and the balance of their food chain would be disrupted.

One thousand pilot whales are killed every year due to the grind. The grind is illegal, inhumane, and environmentally ruinous. But you can help by donating to Operation Grindstop at http://www.seashepherd.org/grindstop/  and help stop the grind today.